Trading Summary (October 30, 2001)

Investors sought refuge in the gold and pipeline sectors as a wave of red swept across the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Overall, the TSE 300 composite lost 70.94 points or more than 1% to end at 6,825.4 points with twelve of its fourteen subindices ending lower. The technology-laden Industrial Products subindex led the decliners with a 2.9% fall. The golds went the other way gaining more than 2.6% to 5,041.71 points. The Pipelines subgroup tacked on 2.8% to hit 6,864.79 points.

In New York, gold rose US$1.40 to US$280.10 per oz. and silver edged up 3 pennies to US$4.25 per oz. Platinum and palladium fell US$7 and US$19 per oz. to hit US$421 and US$325 per oz., respectively. The base metals were mixed, but little changed on the London Metal Exchange.

Canada’s most actively traded miner was Placer Dome with more than 2.1 million shares changing hands. The issue climbed $1.20 or more than 7% to $18.25. The company recently posted a large third-quarter loss on the US$292-million write down on the Getchell mine in Nevada. TVX Gold saw about 1.7 million shares cross the floor. The issues remained unchanged at 66.

Barrick Gold rose 10 to $24.95; Franco-Nevada Mining rose 26 to $22.51; Kinross Gold found 3 to hit $1.33; and Cambior shed two pennies to 80.

Among the mid-tier producers, Agnico-Eagle Mines rose 57 to $15.50, Goldcorp rose 45 to $18.736, Meridian Gold added 76 to reach $17 and Glamis Gold gained 26 to $4.5.59. On Tuesday, Glamis closed a a $50-million bought deal earmarked for its Marigold Millennium project in Nevada.

In the base metals sector, Noranda led the way with more than 826,000 shares traded. The stock shed a quarter to $13.50, slipping to a lower 52-week bottom. Noranda recently reported a third-quarter a loss of $60 million, down from earnings of $52 million the previous year.

Inco shed $1.20 to $21.74; Falconbridge slipped 44 to $14.26; and Teck Cominco lost 24 to $10.11. Sherritt International stood out gaining 14 to $4.19. Breakwater Resources managed to regain 0.5 to 18 after announcing that the Nanisivik mine, in Nunavut, will close in September 2002.

Canada’s junior exchange felt the impact of constant selling pressure with only the Technology Index seeing modest gains. The Canadian Venture Exchange fell 18.54 points, or 0.6% to finish the day at 2,925.46. The Mining Index slumped 58.61 points, or 0.8%, to close at 7,456.50.

Starfield Resources topped the most actively traded chart among junior explorers, dropping 7 to close at 57 on 855,300 shares. The junior is investigating the prospects of a high-grade platinum-palladium zone in the hanging wall of its West zone on the Ferguson Lake project in Nunavut. Hole 101 cut a 0.35-metre section running 26.7 grams platinum and 103 grams palladium from 962.28 metres down-hole.

Norcal Resources ended the day flat at 2 on a heavy 670,000 shares. The junior recently staked the Fry Lake gold property in Ontario. Located 125 km north of Sioux Lookout, the property hosts two east-west trending zones of intense shearing and carbonate alteration. Previous drilling testing one of the zones with six holes returning up to 82.1 grams gold per tonne over 0.5 metre.

Freewest Resources failed to get a boost from news that new bonanza gold grades have been uncovered from the Clarence Stream property in New Brunswick. Shares in the junior ended the day at 32, down 2 on volume of 523,444. Prospecting within a gold-in-soil geochemical anomaly returned up to 418.35 grams gold. The average grade of 27 samples collected over the 1.8-km anomaly came in at 22.6 grams gold.

Oliver Gold continued to attract trading interest ending the day up 1 to 21 on 289,700 shares. The company recently proposed a merger with privately held Hasting Resources. Hastings’ principal asset is the right to acquire a 100% interest in the Ona-Puma nickel laterite property in Para, Brazil from Inco. Oliver’s annual general meeting is slated for Dec. 21.